Georgia hosts Charleston Southern on Sunday afternoon

Georgia Basketball Game Notes

Georgia (10-1) vs. Charleston Southern (3-10)
Date: Sunday, December 22, 2024
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Venue: Stegeman Coliseum (10,523)
Location: Athens, Ga.
TV: SEC Network (Richard Cross, play-by-play; Richard Hendrix, analyst)
Radio: Georgia Bulldog Network – Sirius 388 (Scott Howard, play-by-play; Chuck Dowdle, analyst; Adam Gillespie, Producer)
Tickets: www.georgiadogs.com/mbbtix

The Starting 5...

Georgia hosts Charleston Southern on Sunday afternoon looking to continue their impressive opening to the 2024-25 season. At 10-1, the Bulldogs are off to their best start since beginning the 2001-02 campaign with an 11-1 record.
As of Saturday, Georgia was the only team in the nation ranked in the top-20 D-I statistical leaders in both FG percentage (No. 13 at .504) and FG Percentage Defense (No. 18 at .382).
Georgia's astronomical ascent within metrics has continued during Mike White's third season in Athens. As of Friday the Bulldogs were up an average of 193.5 spots among six of the most popular computer formulas – kenpom, NET, Torvik, KPI, BPI and SOR – since White arrived in Athens.
The Bulldogs' balanced offense features nine players who have have combined to post 40 double-figure scoring outputs in 11 games, led by freshman Asa Newell's 10 double-digit performances.
Georgia entered the weekend ranked among the nation's top-50 teams in 12 statistical categories, headlined by being No. 4 in blocks (6.4 bpg) and No. 5 in rebound margin (+11.6 rpg).

THE OPENING TIP

The Georgia Bulldogs look to continue their stellar start to the 2024-25 season on Sunday when they host Charleston Southern at 3:30 p.m. at historic Stegeman Coliseum.

Georgia is 10-1 on the season, the Bulldogs' best start since they began the 2001-02 campaign with an 11-1 record and just the 10th time in 119 seasons of competition that Georgia has reached double-digits in the win column with less than two losses.

As of Saturday, Georgia ranked among the nation's top-50 teams in no less than 12 statistical categories. Of the 364 programs playing D-I basketball this season, the Bulldogs were the only one ranked in the top 20 in both field goal percentage (No. 13 at .504) and field goal percentage defense (No. 217at .382).

However, Georgia's two strongest attributes have been controlling the glass and protecting the rim. Nationally, the Bulldogs are ranked No. 4 in rejections (6.4 bpg) and No. 5 in boarding margin (+ 11.6 rpg).

Georgia's balanced offense features six players who have led the Bulldogs in scoring in one or more games this season. Three more have posted double-figure scoring outputs. All told, those nine Bulldogs have combined to produce 48 double-digit performances in 11 games.

Technically, Georgia has two leading scorers – De'Shayne Montgomery and Asa Newell.

Montgomery put up 16 points in his Georgia debut against Buffalo on Thursday night.

Newell, a two-time SEC Freshman of the Week honoree in the first five weeks of the season, also is averaging 16.0 ppg and paces UGA on the boards as well at 6.5 rpg. Among SEC stat leaders, Newell entered the weekend ranked No. 13 in scoring and No. 16 in rebounding, as well as No. 4 in field goal percentage (.581) and No. 12 in blocks (1.2 bpg).

Three more Bulldogs are contributing double digits in the scoring column – Silas Demary Jr. at 13.0 ppg, Dakota Leffew at 12.4 ppg and Tyrin Lawrence at 10.7 ppg.

Scouting The Bucs

Charleston Southern arrives in Athens with a 3-10 record on the season. That mark includes an impressive 83-79 victory at Miami. The Buccaneers have play a road-heavy schedule with only three home dates in 13 outings.

Taje' Kelly leads Charleston Southern in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 18.2 ppg and 8.5 rpg. The Bucs have two additional double-figure scorers. RJ Johnson adds 12.8 ppg, with 52.6 percent of his point production coming from a team-high 27 3-pointers, and Daylen Berry chips in 11.8 ppg

Series History With CSU

Georgia is 4-0 all-time against Charleston Southern, in a series that dates back to 1998.

In the most recent meeting on Dec. 17, 2016, Yante Maten tied his season high with 30 points as the Bulldogs bested the Bucs, 84-64, to earn the program's 500th win at Stegeman Coliseum.

Maten scored 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting in the first half as the Bulldogs built a 46-30 lead at the break. The strong offensive showing continued in the second half, as 10 different Bulldogs scored in the period.

Georgia had 22 assists and shot 53.8-percent from the field, both season-high standards by the Bulldogs during the 2016-17 season.

Last Time Out

De'Shayne Montgomery and Asa Newell scored 16 points apiece to lead six Bulldogs in double figures as Georgia topped Buffalo, 100-49, on Thursday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

Silas Demary Jr. added 13 points, including 10 in the first 4:51 of the game, Savo Drezgic produced a career-high 11 points and Blue Cain and Somto Cyril chipped in 10 apiece. In addition to this 10 points, Cyril added career highs of 11 boards and five blocks en route to his first double-double as a Bulldog.

The Bulldogs raced to a 23-0 lead and eventually finished with their largest margin of victory since a 97-37 win over Southern on Nov. 10, 2006.

Georgia also produced a season-high 24 assists while committing a season-low five turnovers.

"That's the best start we've gotten off to," head coach Mike White said. "Offensively and defensively, we were really sharp...looked like a really good team early on. We played a really solid (first) 20. I thought we got off to a decent start offensively in the second half, not quite the same level of sharpness, but I we finished pretty strong in the last 10. It's just probably as close as we've gotten to putting 40 together. Looking down at the stat sheet – 24 (assists) to 5 (turnovers) – that's what I'm happiest about. Boy, if you did that every game, you'd be hard to beat, wouldn't you?"

Bulldogs Beginning Among Their Best Ever

Georgia's 10-1 start to the 2024-25 season is the Bulldogs' best since opening the 2001-02 campaign at 11-1.

This marks just the 10th time in 119 seasons of intercollegiate play for Georgia that the Bulldogs notched their 10th win with one or fewer losses. Georgia's best-ever starts are outlined below.

Bulldogs' Best Beginnings
Rk.	Season	Rec.
1.	1930-31	23-1
2.	1923-24	13-1
3.	2001-02	11-1
	1996-97	11-1
	1929-30	11-1
	1947-48	11-1
	1920-21	11-1
8.	2024-25	10-1
	1995-96	10-1
	1994-95	10-1

Making Dr. Naismith Proud

There are 364 men's basketball teams competing at the Division I level during the 2024-25 season.

As of Saturday, Geoergia was the only one ranked among the top-20 teams in the objective of Dr. Naismith's fine invention – putting the ball in the basket and preventing your opponent from doing so.

Following Friday's games, the Bulldogs were ranked No. 13 in field goal percentage at .504 and No. 18 in field goal percentage defense at .382.

Dogs Among Best In Blocks, Boards...And Lots Of Other Stuff

As of Saturday, Georgia ranked among the nation's top-50 teams in no less than 12 statistics as outlined below.

The Bulldogs have been among the best in the country at controlling the glass and protecting the rim. Georgia ranked No. 4 in blocked shots (6.4 bpg) and No. 5 in rebounding margin (+11.6).

Rebounding wise, the Bulldogs won the board battle in all but one game, including two of the biggest rebound margins in program history. On Nov. 10, Georgia out-rebounded Texas Southern, 53-23, a school-record margin of +30. The Bulldogs' +25 effort against Alabama A&M on Nov. 19 tied UGA's seventh-biggest single-game edge.

Following a season-high five swats in back-to-back outings against Grand Canyon and Buffalo, freshman Somto Cyril now ranks No. 17 nationally at 2.3 bpg. Cyril and classmate Asa Newell both had four blocks when Georgia swatted 12 shots against Texas Southern on Nov. 10, the most in a single game since also blocking a dozen attempts by Vanderbilt on Jan. 9, 2019.

A Top-50 Team In...
Rk.	Category	Stat
4.	Blocked Shots	6.4
5.	Rebound Margin	+11.6
8.	3-Point FG Defense	.269
13.	FG Percentage	.504
17.	Scoring Margin	19.7
18.	FG Defense	.382
24.	Scoring Defense	63.4
33.	Effective FG Percentage	.572
38.	Rebounds Per Game	40.2
44.	Scoring Offense	83.1
46.	Free Throw Makes	17.1
49.	Assists Per Game	16.6

Bulldogs Better Under White

Georgia has made considerable improvement under Mike White from both semantic and quantifiable perspectives.

From traditional "game notes" verbiage you will read:

• Georgia upped its regular-season win total by 10 victories in White's first campaign, the second-largest increase of any Power conference team that season.

• Last season, the Bulldogs earned their first postseason bid since 2017 and while advancing to the NIT semifinals, reached the 20-win mark for the first time since 2016.

• Georgia is currently ranked among the nation's top-40 teams in virtually every metric published, including No. 18 in the NCAA's NET.

From a numerical perspective, Georgia's progress has been even more impressive.

Among six of the most-utilized college basketball metrics, the Bulldogs have ascended an average of 193.5 spots during White's three seasons in Athens as outlined below.

The Metric Improvement
	21-22	24-25	DIFF
SOR	246	16	+230
NET	223	18	+205
Torvik	193	23	+170
KPI*	225	29	+196
BPI	208	32	+176
KenPom	219	35	+184
Avg.	219.0	25.5	+193.5

* Final KPI as of selection Sunday...not updated after postseason.

Bulldogs' Home Non-Conference Win Streak Reaches 25

Georgia's 51-point win over Buffalo extended the Bulldogs' non-conference winning streak at Stegeman Coliseum to 25 games.

In fact, Georgia is perfect against non-conference opposition at home under Mike White, compiling an 8-0 record in 2022-23 and a 10-0 mark in 2023-24 before starting this season 7-0.

White Is Stellar In Stegeman

Mike White's success at Stegeman Coliseum is not confined to his tenure with the Bulldogs.

White was 7-1 in the arena as a visiting head coach before arriving in Athens. He led Louisiana Tech to a 2014 NIT victory at Stegeman and was 6-1 against the Bulldogs in the venue at Florida from 2015-22.

With his 33-10 home mark since becoming Georgia's head coach, White is a combined 40-11 (.784) in Stegeman.

Bulldogs' Schedule Has "March Madness" Feel To It

Though the NCAA Tournament won't tip off until March 18, it is worth noting that Georgia joined the projected field for "March Madness" in ESPN's Nov. 26 edition Bracketology. This week, the Bulldogs are tabbed as a No. 8 seed by Joe Lunardi.

Following a split in games against No. 15/15 Marquette and No. 22/20 St. John's at Atlantis Resort in the Bahamas, Georgia moved from fourth in the "next four out" the previous week to the second of the "last four in" on Nov. 26.

Regardless of the current forecast, the Bulldogs will have plenty of chances for quality wins from now until March. Georgia will play 17 of 31 regular-season games – 54.8 percent – against teams pegged to receive bids by ESPN this week.

Three of Georgia's non-conference foes are listed in the most recent bracket – Marquette as a No. 2 seed, St. John's as a No. 7 and the Antelopes as a No. 12.

The Bulldogs will face the other 12 SEC teams predicted to make the field a total of 14 times, including home-and-homes with Auburn, a No. 1 seed, and Florida, a No. 3 seed. The remaining SEC teams and their seeds are Kentucky (No. 1), Tennessee (No. 1), Alabama (No. 2), Texas A&M (No. 3), Mississippi State (No. 5), Ole Miss (No. 6), Oklahoma (No. 7), Arkansas (No. 9), Missouri (No. 11) and Texas (No. 11). In addition, Vanderbilt and LSU are the second and third teams, respectively, listed among the "next four out," meaning an almost unfathomable 15 of 16 SEC teams are mentioned in this week's NCAA Tournament prognostication.

Asa Again Earns SEC FOTW Honors

Asa Newell was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 9 – his second certificate in the first five weeks of the season – after posting game-high tallies of 20 points and 11 rebounds in Georgia's 69-48 win over Notre Dame in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Newell was also tabbed SEC Freshman of the Week on Nov. 18 after he averaged 13.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 1.5 assists in wins over Georgia Tech and North Florida.

Newell is one of 10 Bulldogs who have earned SEC Freshman of the Week honors a combined 15 times since the award's inception in 1988. He is the first Georgia player to claim the accolade multiple times since Anthony Edwards earned four certificates during the 2019-20 campaign.

Lots Of Bulldogs Leading The Way

No less then six Georgia players have led the Bulldogs offensively during the first 11 games of the season, while six Dogs have topped Georgia's rebounding count in outings to date.

A different Bulldog topped 20 points to lead Georgia's scoring efforts in first three games of the campaign. Asa Newell put up 26 points in the opener against Tennessee Tech, Dakota Few notched 23 digits versus Texas Southern and RJ Godfrey poured in 21 points against North Florida. Silas Demary Jr. was the Bulldogs' leading scorer at Georgia Tech but fell a bucket shy of extending the 20-point scoring streak with 18 points.

Georgia was one of only four Power conference programs with a different 20-point scoring leader in each of the season's first three games along with Butler, Maryland and Stanford.

Since then, Blue Cain joined the leading scoring list with 17 points against No. 15 Marquette and De'Shayne Montgomery did so with 16 points versus Buffalo.

On the boards, Somto Cyril, Demary Jr. and Newell have led Georgia three times and Cain, Godfrey and Tyrin Lawrence have produced the Bulldogs' most boards once each (including ties).

North Florida Victory Supplies Several Superlatives

The fourth-best shooting performance in school history topped a list of stellar stats Georgia posted in a 102-56 victory over Jacksonville on Nov. 30 at Stegeman Coliseum.

The Bulldogs:
• Scored their most points during Mike White's three seasons in Athens;
• Connected on 34-of-54 shots from the field, a red-hot 66.7 percent effort that matched the No. 4 effort in school history;
• Knocked down 14 3-pointers, matching UGA's sixth-most ever;
• Shot 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from behind the arc, their best percentage under White.

Georgia's overall field goal percentage (.667) and 3-point percentage (.583) are currently the best efforts by any SEC team during the 2024-25 season.

Asa Equals UGA Freshman Mark

Asa Newell's 26-point outburst against Tennessee Tech tied Dominique Wilkins for the highest offensive output ever by a Bulldog freshman in their collegiate debut as outlined below.

Wilkins also put up 26 points in his initial outing for Georgia against Troy State on Nov. 30, 1979.

Newell started quickly, scoring his first 10 points over the opening 7:10 of the contest. He reached 20 points with 15:09 left in the contest and then garnered his first double-double with a rebound at the 14:13 mark of the second half. Newell matched Wilkins' tally with an offensive rebound and putback with 2:20 remaining.

When asked by media postgame if he knew of Wilkins' legacy, Newell quickly replied: "Yes, for sure. The human highlight reel. I've got a jersey of Dominique back at the crib."

Top Debuts By Bulldog Freshmen
Pts.	Player	Opponent	Date
26	Asa Newell	Tennessee Tech	11/4/24
26	Dominique Wilkins	Troy State	11/30/79
24	Anthony Edwards	W. Carolina	11/5/19
19	Sahvir Wheeler	W. Carolina	11/5/19
19	Terry Fair	Troy State	11/30/79
18	Jeremy Price	Jacksonville St.	11/9/07
18	D.A. Layne	Mercer	11/13/98
17	Rayshaun Hammonds	Bryant	11/10/17
17	Sundiata Gaines	W. Kentucky	11/23/04
15	Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	Woffford	11/11/11

Trio Posts First Double-Doubles

RJ Godfrey, Asa Newell and Blue Cain both recorded the first double-doubles of their collegiate careers in the first two games of the season. Godfrey and Newell did so in the season opener, while Cain followed suit in the next contest against Texas Southern.

Godfrey put up 10 points and 10 boards against Tennessee Tech and then posted career highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds versus North Florida. After not recording a double-double in 69 GPs as a freshman and a sophomore, Godfrey did so in two of his first three outings as a Bulldog.

Newell reached double figures in scoring in just 7:10 into his college career and took all of 25:47 to secure his double-double.

Cain grabbed a career-most 11 rebounds to go with his 12 points against TSU.

Six Dogs Were Top-100 Prospects

Georgia's 15-player roster includes no less than a half-dozen Bulldogs who were ranked among the nation's top-100 prospects in their recruiting classes.

Blue Cain, Silas Demary Jr. and Dylan James all were tabbed among the top 100 players in the Class of 2023. Their highest The highest rankings featured Cain at No. 53 by On3.com, Demary at No. 56 by Rivals.com and James at No. 78 in the 247Sports.com composite.

As a class, they were ranked No. 11 by Rivals.com, No. 15 in the 247Sports.com composite, No. 18 by On3.com and No. 20 by 247Sports.com.

Somto Cyril, Savo Drezgić and Asa Newell were featured among the top 100 prospects in the Class of 2024, with highs of No. 11 for Newell by On3.com, No. 43 for Cyril by 247Sports.com and No. 53 for Drezgić by On3.com.

Newell finished No. 14 in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, placing him alongside from impressive names. Newell is the fourth-highest signee for Georgia since the website began its composite ledger in 2003, trailing only Anthony Edwards (No. 2 in 2019), Lou Williams (No. 6 in 2005 before declaring for the NBA Draft) and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (No. 11 in 2011).

Georgia Staff Inks Third-Straight Top-15 Recruiting Class

Mike White announced on Friday, Nov. 15 that high school standouts Jackson McVey, Kareem Stagg and Jacob Wilkins inked papers to join the Bulldogs next season.

The trio was ranked No. 11 nationally by Rivals.com, as well as No. 12 by 247Sports.com, giving Georgia its third straight top-15 recruiting class of prep prospects. The Bulldog signees in the Classes of 2024 and 2023 were ranked No. 10 and No. 15, respectively, by both outlets.

McVey, is a 7-1, center from Ellijay, Ga., who is playing at Overtime Elite this season. Nationally, McVey is rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN.com, and he has been ranked as one of the nation's top-25 center prospects in the On3.com composite and by ESPN.com.

Stagg, is a 6-8, power forward from Chesapeake, Va., who is in his second season at the IMG Academy. A consensus four-star prospect, Stagg is ranked among the nation's top-100 prospects by 247Sports.com (No. 73), Rivals.com (No. 86) and On3.com (No. 92).

Wilkins, a 6-9, small forward from Loganville, Ga., and Grayson High School is the son of former Bulldog and hall-of-famer Dominique Wilkins. Jacob is a four-star recruit ranked among the nation's top-50 players by every major recruiting service – No. 35 by Rivals.com, No. 45 by ESPN.com, No. 49 by On3.com and No. 50 by 247Sports.com.

Dominique Wilkins, a two-time All-American and 1981 SEC Player of the Year, led Georgia to its first-ever postseason bids with the 1981 and 1982 NITs. Though he played only three seasons at Georgia, Wilkins departed Athens as the Bulldogs' career scoring leader with 1,688 points, a 21.6 ppg average over 78 outings. He was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1982 NBA Draft before enjoying an illustrious career primarily with the Atlanta Hawks that included being a nine-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA selection.

Bulldogs Produce Points In Exhibitions

Georgia averaged exactly 100 points in the Bulldogs' two preseason exhibition victories, putting up 86 at Charlotte and 114 versus UCF.

Equally impressive as the point production was Georgia's efficiency. The Bulldogs shot 61.3 percent from the floor, including 48.9 percent from 3-point range, against the 49ers and Knights.

COMPLETE GAME NOTES PDF

View the full game notes PDF.

Georgia hosts Charleston Southern on Sunday afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Blue Cain

Silas Demary Jr.

Savo Drezgic

RJ Godfrey

Dylan James

Tyrin Lawrence

Dakota Leffew

De'Shayne Montgomery

Asa Newell

University of Georgia Athletics

Georgia hosts Charleston Southern on Sunday afternoon

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Blue Cain

Silas Demary Jr.

Savo Drezgic

RJ Godfrey

Dylan James

Tyrin Lawrence

Dakota Leffew

De'Shayne Montgomery

Asa Newell

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